Will the Republucans use the nuclear option to confirm Trump's nominee? Will they even need to? Will enough Democrats who will be up for reelection soon be willing to risk looking like a partisan hack to their voters?

I think the Democrats would be foolhardy to force the issue. First, they opened the door by eliminating the filibuster for the lower courts. Second, we will likely see two and perhaps three or more new SCOTUS justices during the next 4 - 8 years. That will be a generational change for the court that will last 30 years.

If the Dems force the nuclear option they will regret it for a long time before they even have the opportunity to get even.